(Jerusalem Patriarchate) - On Saturday February 4/17, 2018, hundreds of Christians rallied in support of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and the rest of the Jerusalem Churches against the recent tax measures (Arnona) imposed by the Israeli Jerusalem Municipality on the Holy Churches and their adjacent buildings. These tax measures are a flagrant violation of the Status Quo of Jerusalem, which has been established by the long-term sacred history and respected by the many rulers of Jerusalem over the past decades.
The peaceful protest, was followed by a rally that was launched at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem through the Christian Quarter and in the area before St. Helen’s gates and the Metochion of Gethsemane opposite the Holy Sepulchre. Protesters then roamed around the Holy Sepulcher Church while chanting against the Municipality measures.
After their march, leaders of the groups participating in the rally were received by H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III at the Patriarchate Headquarters. His Beatitude explained to them that governments so far have respected the tax exemption rights of the Patriarchate and thanked them for their honest and devout support.
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This is a protest of the ability of the non-Muslim and infidel City of Jerusalem to levy any taxes at all, not a protest on high taxes. The rhetoric here is extremely anti-Semitic and unworthy of a Christian. The church representative is attempting to stir up opposition and local strikes against City Government by local businesses.
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